General Information

The International Colloquium "Sanctuaries and Cults of Demeter in the ancient Greek world" is part of a broader program of scientific research of cult activities in the Ancient Greek World by the Department of History, Archaeology and Social Anthropology of the University of Thessaly. This Colloquium is orientated towards the study of the specific religious phenomenon of the cult of Demeter and its diffusion in Ancient Greece and beyond. Focal issues include:

Important or recently excavated sanctuaries of Demeter in Greece: Architectural remains, characteristic votives, and elucidation of the character of the cult.

New evidence on matters of cult from the sanctuary of Eleusis (archaeological- iconographic, epigraphic, philological).

Evidence (archaeological, iconographic, epigraphic, philological) on the diffusion of the Mystery Cult of Demeter outside Eleusis in the Greek and possibly the Roman world.

Organising Institutions

Department of History, Archaeology and Social Anthropology, in collaboration with the Postgraduate Studies Program of the same Department.

The colloquium is organised in the context of the Postgraduate Studies Program of our Department, "Interdisciplinary Approaches to History, Archaeology and Social Anthropology". It is part of a series of lectures during the Spring Semester of the Academic Year 2004-2005, entitled "Religious phenomena and social transformations in the Mediterranean World".

Organising Committee

Dr. I Leventi (lecturer in Classical Archaeology, Department of History, Archaeology and Social Anthropology, University of Thessaly)
associate Prof. A. Mazarakis Ainian (Department of History, Archaeology and Social Anthropology, University of Thessaly)
Ch. Mitsopoulou (PhD candidate in Classical Archaeology in the Department of History and Archaeology, University of Athens)